Improvement in grasshopper-catchers



. H. SIMPSON.

M Grasshopper-Catcher.

Patented D ...I 1877.

N. PETERS. PHDTU-LIYHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL H. SIMPSON, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IM PROVEMNTA IN GRASSHOPPER-CATCHERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,420, dated December' 18, 1877; application filed September 26, 1877.

To all whom it may concern y Beit known that I, MICHAEL H. SIMPSON,

yof Boston, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts, have inventcd'certain Improvements in GrasshopperfCatchers, of which the following is a specification:

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a perspective view of my invention adapted for catching insects. Fig. 2 representsa sectional view of the sameas shown `in Fig. 1,

and Fig. 3 represents a-sectional view of the tacle thus formed is adapted to be opened at its front, and held open by the draft which moves the apparatus, and to be automatically closed at its front when the apparatus stops; and the receptacle is adapted to be opened at its rear for the removal of the insects after they have been killed by being crushed against the platform.

Theinventi on consists, also, in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, all of which I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A represents the grasshopper catcher or receptacle, which is composed of a rigid platform, b, and a llexible hood or cover, c, located thereon. The platform b is mounted on trucks d d at its rear side, and has draft-ropes e e attached to its forward side, said ropes being adapted for attachment to a horse. The platform is, preferably, from flve to seven feet long, and is composed, preferably, of boards, making a tight flooring, and resting on transverse cleats g g, the forward ends of which are rounded and rest upon the ground. The forward side of the platform is provided with a downwardly-inclined metallic flange or scoop, h.

The hood or cover c is composed, preferably,

of coarse bagging or other textile or flexible material, and is attached firmly to the ends of the platform, preferably by means of metallic strips z', which are screwed to the platform,

'the ends of the cover being interposed between the platform and the strips z'.

j j represent parallel inclined standards,

which are rigidly attached to the front side of the platform, and project upwardly and outwardly therefrom, the standards being, preferably, portions of the strips i, as shown in Fig. l.

krepresents a bar, which is somewhat longer than the platform b, and is adapted to slide up and down on the standards j, the bar being provided with slots, through which the standards pass. The forward edge of the hood or cover c is attached in any suitable manner to the bar la, so as to rise and fall with the latter. The bar k is connected to the draft-ropes e by short ropes e', which pass through orifices in the upper ends of the standards j, and are so arranged that the draft which moves the ap paratus will draw the bar upwardly, so that the receptacle is held open, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, while the apparatus is in motion. When the draft ceases and the apparatus stops, the bar lc falls, and thus automatically closes the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 3. I prefer to employ a spring, l, to facilitate the descent of the bar k, this spring being attached at its ends, preferably, to a stationary object near the rear edge of the platform, and to the under side of the hood or cover near the forward edges thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This spring, however, may not be necessary when the bar is sufficiently heavy to descend readily by its own weight.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the apparatus is put in motion the front of the receptacle is automatically opened, and the grasshoppers or other insects on the surface of the field over which it is drawn are gathered or scooped7 into the receptacle.

I provide the rear side of the receptacle with a rigid frame, m, to which the hood c is attached. This frame incloses a sheet of fine netting, u, which forms a reticulated barrier at the rear of the receptacle, and allows the air to pass freely through the receptacle when it is in motion, but arrests and prevents the escape of the insects.

When the horse stops, tli slaokenir-g' of the draftropes instantly allows the receptacle to close itself, as above described, thus preventing the'escape of any of the insects. When a suiiicient number of insects have been caught, they may be killed by stamping er moving a roller upon the hood or cover, or otherwise crushing them against the platform.

To enable the re'ar side of the receptacle' to be opened for the removal of the dead insects, I attach the frame m andthe netting it oontains to a bar, o, which is connected t6 the platform b by hinges M', and is adapted to' be raised, as shown in Fig. 3J thus allowing the insects to be scraped or dumped out. The

bar o is secured to the pla rin when in place by a button or other suitab e device; s: i The' apparatus ,thus constructed enables a 4large quantity of insectsV to be caught in a short time, under favorable conditions,and the combination of the riga p1 ntfsrm and flexible' hood or cover enab es the insects fe be killed by crushing before they are Ieiliovey v,from the machine, or by scaldinglthe hood alrou lowing hot water to pass freely t it:

The apparatus may be arranged to be pdpelled from the rear, in which case the means for opening vand closing Athe xfront of th ieceptacle will necessarily be changed.

1;; claim as myinvention'f- 1. In a grasshopper-catcher,- the cinbiiiation of a solid rigid platform, b, drawn along the ,sunrise off the ground, and forming a support on which to rush iiisc'ts, and the fiexi ble hood or cover, unobstructed from above, and connected to the top of the platform, to collect and confine the insects on said platform,

` arid allow such insects be' crushed, as set forth.

2. The combinationpf ,the flexible hood or 'diver c, die rigid pldefdi'in fb, the inclined standards j, rigidly attached to said platform, the bar k, secured to the front edge of the diver' and notatie upon said standards, and

the ropes e e whereby the apparatus is moved and the bar k elevated automatically, as set forth.

3.I In combinatioi jtli liood or cover 0, the ssi t` and standards j,- tns spiiing l to fn,-

iipsii die standards, as sst t 4 in ssinbiiiation with the ne hoed or cover c and igi siiitass die denn-ward nidvgenisn of die snr pisacane die tinged snr d, sai-innen ts and dssssiiaiiislfidni the plat-- isi'ni wiisissy an spends at die fear end of 'the detenidas is presided for die fein-stal of die insects, as sst fsiidi.

in; nssiiinoiiii 'saresti have signsdniyndme satisn in the presence sf two dissenting' iiiiiissses.v y Miennnn n. srMPsoN. Witnesses WM. i' snninin B. rimini. 

